Taser and taser-type products have been around for decades. The taser weapon operates by projecting two darts trailing conductive wires. There are disadvantages to the taser system. The optimal distances required for successful use of the weapon are between 3 and 21 feet. Less than 3 feet, the darts are too close together to properly conduct electricity. Beyond 21 feet, the darts are too far apart for both of them to strike the target. The electrical insulation on the wires must remain intact to keep the device from shorting out from entangled wires. Also, the taser is a one-shot weapon. An officer may have to fall back on lethal means to protect himself or others. Worse, a citizen using a taser for home defense may find him or herself at the mercy of a criminal should the one shot fail.
Despite these disadvantages, the taser weapon system has become extremely popular with law enforcement units, particularly in municipalities. The taser is used by hundreds of law enforcement groups and is just beginning a penetration of the international market.
A solution to the above-mentioned problems is to reduce the electronics and power supply to a self-contained cartridge. The development of such a cartridge would allow the weapon to have a greater range and be adapted to a multiple shot format or, at the least, a quickly chambered second or third shot. Such a cartridge is believed to be in development at this time. This cartridge would increase the popularity of the weapon, but it raises other problems.
The size and mass of these cartridges will be greater than that of the simple barb-tipped darts now being used. Depending on the diameter, mass and velocity, the possibility of unintended physical damage, such as bruised kidneys, ruptured spleens and broken bones, becomes quite distinct.
This cartridge will probably range from one to two inches in diameter and weigh between two to four ounces to accommodate the electronics and power source and still be able to be fired from a compressed gas or powder-discharge weapon. Unfortunately, diameters of less than two inches presents another problem. The minimum separation distance for the electric contacts, or barbs, of a taser is four inches in order for the weapon to function properly. Therefore some mechanism is needed to provide this four-inch minimum from a cartridge that is two inches or less in diameter.
The mass of the cartridge presents yet another problem. The currently used darts do not have enough mass to pull the barb shaft loose upon rebound from the surface of the target. A cartridge with a mass of two to four ounces will have this problem. The barb on existing darts could be made more pronounced but you can only go so far with that before the penetration or removal of the darts leave a serious wound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,199, issued to James McNulty, Jr. et al., on Nov. 3, 1998, describes a method for a cartridge-type device to obtain this dimension. Upon contact, the cartridge is anchored by a barb on front of the cartridge while a secondary wire-tethered dart is fired at an angle from the side of the cartridge at a trajectory that will cause it to strike the skin at least several inches away. It is a taser dart inside a taser cartridge. This solution appears to be cumbersome. A switch must be activated upon impact by the cartridge telling the secondary taser dart to fire. However, if the cartridge strikes the body at an outer periphery, the secondary dart could miss altogether.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,806, issued to Peter G. Coakly et al., on Oct. 5, 1999 describes a device in which several arms splay outward from the cartridge body. Since these arms are forwardly hinged, then are activated by a forward plunger that propels them around their hinges upon contact with the target, forcing them against the target. These arms (and the plunger) are barbless. The device is supposed to stay attached with an adhesive applied to the plunger. Although sufficient distance between contact points can be obtained with this device, it does not address the problem of the impact of the cartridge. The invention even touts the combination of kinetic energy with the electrical immobility feature as a positive feature.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for the cartridge to ameliorate the impact of the cartridge.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an attachment for such a cartridge which reliably delivers a sufficient distance between the contact points so that an effective electrical charge can be delivered to a target.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an attachment for such a cartridge which counteracts the rebound of the cartridge after initial contact so that the cartridge can stay in a proper place on the target.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an attachment to such a cartridge which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and easy to deploy.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the reading of the attached specification and appended claims.